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29kylo doesn't post much. The Southwest Georgia artist treats social media like a necessary evil - something he knows he should use but can't bring himself to care about. His latest project, Y Not? Part 2, dropped a year after the first installment, and he admits the gaps come down to life getting in the way and a general distaste for the grind of staying visible online. But when he does lock in, the music speaks for itself. Inspired by Chief Keef's DIY ethic and XXXTentacion's raw energy,Kylo operates on his own terms.
The Year-Long Gap
Q: You dropped Y Not? Part 2 recently. Last project was a year ago. What's been going on?
A: Really, to be real with the fans, it really just be life shit. Life be life. But I be trying to stay motivated with the music. I ain't gonna lie, I be seeing a lot of shit on social media - I really hate social media. So it's hard for me to stay consistent when I really don't like it. I love music though. I love music. So sometime I just forget to stay consistent, and it's really been bad. But I'm gonna get back right.
The Real Reason for the Silence, I Wanted To Grill Him
Q: In an era where everyone's dropping constantly, some artists drop monthly, weekly, you? What's, for you, the reason for the hiatus?
A: Man, there was a moment. I was working this warehouse job, stacking boxes, and I'm not gonna lie - I came home one day, looked at my setup, and thought "this shit ain't for me." But then I played some Chris Finesse beat in the car, and I remembered who I was. That's when I knew I had to get back to it.
Q: Chief Keef sat on Bang 3 for years perfecting it. Was it perfectionism or paralysis?
A: It was neither, bro. It was patience. Everyone wants to be the next big thing immediately. I'd rather be the last real thing in a world of fake shit. If that takes a year, it takes a year.
Q: You said the relationship ending "got you trim." Was the silence about protecting the private from becoming public?
A: Nah, That year was about me getting my mind right. I had to process that shit first.
Q: You lost a year of content momentum but gained... what? Technical skills? Better weed? Emotional clarity? What specifically did that year buy you that dropping monthly couldn't?
A: Clarity. I learned I don't actually like being "on" all the time. The internet makes you feel like you gotta feed it constantly. I fed myself instead - better beats, better habits, better understanding of what I actually want to sound like.
Q: Was That year about building locally while the internet forgot you? Or did you feel like the internet forgot you, and you had to remind them?
A: Both, honestly. But that's the thing about Southwest Georgia - we're used to being overlooked. So I built where I'm from, for the people from where I'm from. The internet forgetting me just means I'm doing it right. No noise, just signal.
Q: If Y Not? Part 3 takes another year, or never comes, what's the last thing you want fans to remember about 29kylo?
A: That I never compromised. That I built my own lane and stayed in it. Whether Part 3 comes or not, you already got two projects that are me. That's the memory.
The Plan Moving Forward
Q: What needs to change for you to keep it going?
A: Right now I'm trying to get my own crib. Keep it a buck-fifty with you, I'ma do hella shit. I'll be on here every day. I'ma start streaming cuz that's really what I want to do. I stay on YouTube, bro. I love YouTube. I be on YouTube 24/7. If it's not a game - I don't got no game system no more - but if I had a game, I'll be on the game. I'll be on YouTube. So like, fuck, I just start streaming, be in the sto. I'm really an introvert, gang. So I'll be in the crib making money and doing content.
Q: You planning any visuals for this project?
A: Yeah, I was just talking to my other partner about it literally just a couple minutes ago. I was like, yeah, I'm probably gonna do one. Since I did do a visual to the last Why Not, I was like, man, I feel like I got to do one for this one. Why not? It's literally why not with this shit, bro. I don't know which song yet, though.
Freestyling High
Q: What was the process recording "Got Me Trim"? That intro is catchy.
A: I'ma tell you the truth, man. I got off work, got home, rolled up a blunt, got high. I was like, man, fuck, I need to make some music, bro. I got high as fuck and I freestyled that shit. No cap. And it's really that producer who made that beat though. He made a beat to a song that Chris Finesse dropped called "Never Left" and that shit - the beat so hard. I've been really like - a lot of the beats that's on the tape he produced. That nigga so tough, bro. So I really heard that beat in the car. I was like I got to make some music. Then yeah, last year I got out a relationship. I guess at tight end, but I was really like I gotta get right. That's why I said it got me tripping. They got me trim.
Chief Keef and XXXTentacion
Q: What are your influences?
A: Keef for one, the goat. I grew up listening to Yung Bans. That nigga inspired the fuck out of me. I ain't gonna lie. Especially goddamn seeing that shit firsthand. And then XXXTentacion. Yeah, yeah, Those my influences type shit.
Q: Chief Keef was a big one for you?
A: Bro, he's the fucking goat. That nigga did this shit on his own. Got out his bad environment. He was in his room recording his own songs, making his own beats. Like, bro, what the fuck? That really inspired me at first. I was listening to Chief Keef before he started even making his own beats. I was like, damn, this nigga can make beats too?
Why the Industry Feels Fake
Q: You mentioned you hate the industry. What made you feel that way?
A: I found out like the industry - I found out at a young age - that the industry is not as genuine as I thought. I be seeing this shit on social media, niggas painting nails and shit. I'm like, bro, nigga, no, bro. Ain't no way these niggas are actually bumping and shit.
The Favorite
Q: You got a favorite song off the new project?
A: Keep it a buck, "No Dap" That needs a video too. I ain't gonna lie. That's my shit.
29kylo cut his dreads, cut out the noise, and kept it simple. The underground doing well and alive.